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My
research interests comprise three broad areas: pornography's effects
on relationship satisfaction; Latino mental health and service utilization;
and improved clinical decision-making through improved assessment
methodology.
Pornography's effects on relationship satisfaction
I have
been exploring the effects of pornography on romantic relationships.
Some of the research questions I have been asking include: How do
women interpret their male partner's pornography use? How do
couples use sexually explicit materials, and how does this use relate
to dyadic and sexual satisfaction? How common is compulsive pornography
use? What therapeutic strategies can psychologists use to assist
couples who present as distressed over such use?
Latino mental health and service utilization
Latinos are the fastest-growing minority group in the United States. However, they underutilize medical and psychological health
services, despite similar rates of psychiatric problems and
stressors. I have been interested in understanding factors
that interfere with initial service utilization, remaining in treatment,
and obtaining positive outcomes. Once these barriers
are more fully understood, I intend to use this knowledge to
increase appropriate, culturally-sensitive, and timely access to
services for this population.
Assessment methodology
Assessment is one of the benchmark activities of clinical psychologists.
However, assessment instruments and methods of data collection,
combination, and interpretation are psychometrically flawed, often
profoundly so. I have been working on identifying factors
that relate to the evaluation of assessment tools for clinical use
and the interpretation of assessment data, with the goal of offering
a series of decision-making tools for clinical use.
Representative
Publications
Bridges,
A.J., Bergner, R.M., & Hesson-McInnis, M. (2003). Romantic partner's
use of pornography: Its significance for women. Journal of
Sex and Marital Therapy, 29, 1-14.
Bergner, R.M., & Bridges, A.J. (2002). The significance of
heavy pornography involvement for romantic partners: Research and
clinical implications. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy,
28, 193-206.
Wosnitzer, R., & Bridges, A.J. (2007, May). Aggression and
Sexual Behavior in Best-Selling Pornography: A Content Analysis
Update. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the
International
Communication Association, San Francisco, CA.
Bridges, A.J., & de Arellano, M.A. (2007). Trauma exposure,
mental health, and service utilization rates among immigrant and
US-born Latino youth: Results from the Hispanic Family Study.
Unpublished manuscript.
Bridges, A.J., & Holler, K.A. (in press). How many is
enough? Determining optimal sample sizes for normative studies
in pediatric neuropsychology. Child Neuropsychology.
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